In sporting competitions it is often necessary to determine an exact time when an event occurred, such as when a participant completed a race. In swimming competitions a race typically begins upon the sounding of a start horn and ends for each swimmer when that swimmer reaches an end of a swim lane after completing one or more laps. Existing solutions for determining a swimmer's race time include a timing mechanism that measures an elapsed time between the sounding of the start horn and the moment the swimmer reaches the end of the swim lane at the completion of the race. Such systems use touchpads mounted on a wall of the swimming pool at the end of the swim lane to determine a time when the swimmer has reached the end of the lane by detecting when the swimmer touched the touchpad.
The above section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.